Tudor: Helen Read OW 2009

My main memory from school was the diversity of opportunities that were on offer compared to where I would have had to go otherwise. And I made the most of it, taking part in all the sports, DofE, choir, drama and choosing IB so I could continue more subjects after GCSE! In hindsight, I probably didn’t do such a good job of each of those things, but I would have got bored if I’d specialised in maths and science too soon.

I went to Cardiff University to study Civil and Environmental Engineering, graduating in 2013 before starting at Laing O’Rourke where I have worked ever since. I now build major infrastructure that impacts millions of people’s lives, including Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station, and Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. I’ve recently moved to Oxford to build a research institute and cancer treatment centre. I still love learning and my company funded me to do a MSc at Cambridge University, where I never thought I’d get in! I possibly underestimated full time work and study simultaneously, as the dissertation didn’t leave much space for a social life! 

Outside of work, I mostly love being outdoors, and continue learning every possible skill I can find, having learnt rugby and kitesurfing at uni, I now paddleboard, paraglide, snowboard and climb, as well as craftier pursuits which were also sparked at KESW, such as crochet, knitting and sewing. 

Personal highlights include my sabbatical where I drove to Turkey and back solo and did a ski season in Japan; cycling from Faro to Lisbon round the Portuguese coast; cycling the length of Wales, and paddleboarding from Bristol to London.